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August 03, 2011

Imagine my surprise at making Mama Kat's list of favorites for last week! Thanks, Mama Kat! If I had chosen the prompt about blog tips to give myself, I know I'd list "Use the word vagina when describing housework" - it gets 'em every time!

The prompt I chose this week: Write a poem inspired by the word "Loss"

Dis-memberedThat empty chair, like a billboard advertising your absenceno shoes by the doorMissing the scent of aftershaveWhisker clippings on the sinkIt's never your voice on the phoneThough I may wish it to beNo sports on the TV, the newspaper neglected on the stoop One less plate at the table You won't be backThough your side of the closet is still full Mother can't bear to clean itYoung grandchildren wonder why you've been gone so longSoon they'll forget your voice
And your face, except in photographsGuilt felt because the longing lessensas we continue life without youDeath changes all of usIf you could return to us, would recognition be in your eyes?Wherever you are, Mother is now there with youNow two empty chairsMourning covers us like a shawlBookends of loss, only the stories remain

14 comments:

Wow, this entire poem gripped me, but the last three lines, it has left me speechless. I've never been able to put my feelings and emotions about death of loved ones on paper, and here you've captured so much emotion in your poem about loss. I hope you will look to publish this as many others will find comfort from reading this.

This is such a beautiful poem! I lost my dad, so reading the line: "Guilt felt because the longing lessens as we continue life without you." That's the most tragic part of it all, isn't it? That you must move on to continue living but in moving on some of the longing and desire to stay there, or where that person once lived, lessens.

Very lovely. It's the little things that sneak up and tug at our heart strings. My grandchildren would be lost without their Gpa. There has always been a part of me that felt sad to see that, in time, life really does go on, and you know it can and should, but . . .

It's all about me...

Why "The Ratio of Failures" (RoF)? The name is from a Margaret Atwood quote: "A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a reason."
No wastebasket here, so you may find typos, grammatical blunders and other nonsense that missed the bit bucket (wherever it is that writing errors go now).
Come on, join in on the fun!